The present application deals with a structural wall and especially to a structural wall having abutting structural panels with improved reinforced panel edge connections.
In the past, it has been common to provide a wide variety of modular building panels including prefabricated panels of all types. One common type of building panel includes a pair of planar surfaces, such as sheet metal surfaces, spaced by a foamed polymer, such as polystyrene or polyurethane, which provides a lightweight panel of great strength. Other panels have used honeycomb material spaced by planar surfaces to provide a lightweight panel of great insulation. There have been a variety of techniques for attaching prefabricated panels of this type together and typically these involve a tongue that is inserted into a groove along the abutting edges of two panels and then locking the two panels together. Since the tongue and groove are typically metal, a complete seal against air currents and, as a result, various techniques have been developed for providing additional seals including caulking the connection as well as various types of rubber seals.
Typical prior art patents of the present type having various types of connections between abutting edges of panels may be seen in the U.S. patents to Glaros, U.S. Pat. No. 3,535,844, for a structural panel having metal skin spaced by an insulating material and having a pair of tongues oppositely inserted into a pair of grooves with one of the panels being anchored through its skin to the framework of a building. A second Glaros U.S. Pat. No. 3,469,873 shows other ways of joining planar connecting members. In the Martin, Jr. et al. patent, U.S. Pat. No. 4,143,498, a concealed fastener clip for building panels is shown in which building plans having a pair of metal skin surfaces spaced by an insulating material and is provided with a connecting clip which is bolted to a framework and which fits within the groove of one panel for a tongue to slip thereinto from another panel. The Porter patent, U.S. Pat. No. 4,575,981, shows a roof panel construction in which the panels have off-setting edges which mesh to interconnect the panels which are then sealed with a threaded fastener inserted through a pair of engaging tongues, one from each of the abutting edges of the panels. The Finch et al. patent, U.S. No. 4,546,590, shows a partition wall system and components for the system in which the partitioning walls are connected with a threaded fastener through interconnecting abutting edges of the partitions. The Thompson patent, U.S. Pat. No. 4,283,897, is a snap action panel wall construction having clips bolted to a support for holding a panel wall to a spaced supporting member or framework and includes a seal placed between the abutting panels. The Wang patent, U.S. Pat. No. 4,790,112, shows an assembly for two interconnected similar plastic planks to a framework in which a threaded fastener is driven through a pair of meshed tongues on abutting panels. The Bowersox et al. patent, U.S. Pat. No. 5,228,257, shows a modular wall system having abutting panels with inner meshed tongues which are locked together with a fastener member passing through the tongues and caulks the edges of the panel for a complete seal.
In contrast to these prior art systems, the present invention is directed towards structural insulating panels which have the abutting edges joined with interconnecting tongue and grooves but which includes specially designed reinforcing members placed along interconnecting edges and wrapping around metal lined grooves. The attaching fasteners can connect through both the tongue and groove to lock the panels together while simultaneously locking through the reinforced members four times to greatly increase the strength both of the interconnection and of the wall system. The interconnecting member can also be driven through a metal header supporting the panels together and providing a surface for attaching the roofing panels.